Fundraising

Introduction
We want to see a well-funded agroecological sector in which farmers, growers, foresters and land-based workers are able to access the finance they need to make their enterprises successful and maximise the benefits to economies, ecologies and communities. But, we are sadly a long way from this and the sector suffers significant underfunding. A recent survey of 156 new entrants carried out by the LWA showed that 46% had struggled to access appropriate finance and experienced this as a barrier to setting up or scaling up their production.

As part of our work to remedy this situation we have produced this guide and offer support and advice to members on finance and fundraising. We hope it is of use and welcome feedback, input, new ideas and new content.

In recent years Brexit and the Coronavirus pandemic have substantially changed the funding landscape. Most grant funders put their regular programmes on hold, and many lenders were unable to keep up with the demands of their borrowers with reduced staff. Government’s environment and farming subsidies are also in transition as a result of our exit from the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy.

However, there is also a growing awareness of the climate crisis, household food insecurity and the role of agroecological farms in strengthening local economies, overcoming hunger and dietary related ill health and ensuring environmental sustainability. This awareness, supported by low interest rates, means that there are also new opportunities for small-scale farms and woodlands to secure grants, loans and equity finance.

This is particularly true if your business or project has social objectives, such as providing horticultural training to people from a disadvantaged area or improving access to food for low-income communities. You’ll also have a wider ranger of options and a greater chance of securing finance if your farm or forest business is a not-for-profit, such as a community benefit society or community interest company.

New loan and grant funding have also emerged specifically to support farms and woodlands manage through the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of whether or not they are delivering on social outcomes. And the public appetite to invest in sustainable agroecological holdings through loans, crowd funding and community shares is high at the moment.

The funding landscape is constantly changing and there will inevitably will be further changes in the coming months and years, so it will be well worth checking back in with trusts, banks etc. on a regular basis as COVID-19 and Brexit is likely to lead to changes in the medium- and longer-term funding priorities.

Public funding for agriculture is devolved and the nations of the UK are taking increasingly different views on agricultural support so be sure to check the relevant administrations to you and sign up to their updates and news bulletins.

This guide looks at five different types of finance available to small-scale farms and woodlands: grants from trusts and foundations; public funding; crowd-funding; loans; and community shares. The following table indicates funding available depending on your legal structure. There are of course the exceptions:

Finance Available by Type of Legal Structure
Grants (I) – Trusts and Foundations       Grants (II) – Corporate Grants & Public Funding

There are excellent resources available for free, on-line, to support you to develop your fundraising plans, and these are included at the bottom of each section.

Resources: General Fundraising Guides
The CSA Network provide a fundraising guide for CSAs, covering community shares, grants, crowd-funding and loans: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/resource/funding/

Making Local Food Work produced the guide Simply Finance, a guide to options for financing a community enterprise: https://www.uk.coop/resources/simply-finance

The Woodland Trust provide a fundraising guide for community woods: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/community-woods/funding/

Community Shares
If you need to raise a large amount of money then you may want to consider a community share offer. This is what most community-owned farms have done to raise capital to buy land, but it can also be used to raise money for buildings or equipment. For example, a share offer allowed Rush Farm to buy their 180-acre farm and invest in new infrastructure.

The term ‘community shares’ refers to withdrawable share capital that can only be issued by cooperative societies, community benefit societies and charitable community benefit societies. So, this won’t be an option for you if you’re a sole trader, registered charity, CIC, limited company or business partnership. You can convert from a sole trader, business partnership or limited company to a society, but it’s a significant decision and takes at least a few months.

Community shares is a form of investment. People usually invest for the long-term, around 10 years, but as it is investment, you would need to be able to pay investors (members) back over the longer-term. Normally community shares also pay members a return on their investment, usually up to 3%, although people can and do also choose to waive their interest. If you are planning to do a community share offer you will probably need to seek professional advice. Recently grants have been available for this support: https://communitysharesbooster.org.uk/. Community Shares provides a list of professionals providing the service: http://communityshares.org.uk/support/practitioner-directory

Resources: Community Shares Community Shares provides guides and resources on the practicalities of launching and investing in a community share offer, including the Community Shares Handbook http://communityshares.org.uk/ and http://communitysharesscotland.org.uk/

Cooperatives UK produced a series of guides as part of Making Local Food Work which includes the guide Simply Finance which contains lots of helpful information on getting finance including through community shares. https://www.uk.coop/resources/simply-finance

Cooperatives UK have also made a 2-minute film introducing community shares and directing readers to further resources https://www.uk.coop/developing-co-ops/community-shares

Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is raising donations from a lot of people, probably including your friends and family, using an online platform such as Crowdfunder. Small-scale farms in the UK have raised between £500 and £10,000 through crowdfunding, but typically raise around £3,000. Recent examples include Tolhurst Organics raising £8,450 to build a straw-bale ‘veg-shed’, and Fanfield Farm raised £4,112 to provide facilities for volunteers: Fanfield Farm: https://tinyurl.com/y8l7rl2a Tolhurst Organics: https://tinyurl.com/y9jweno7

When setting up your crowdfunding ‘campaign’, you’ll be asked to offer your supporters ‘rewards’ for their donations. For example, Tolhurst Organics offered a range of rewards from a 25kg sack of potatoes for a £20 donation, to hosting an event for you for a donation of £800. However, supporters can, and often do, donate without selecting to receive a ‘reward’. All of the online platforms take a percentage to cover their admin costs, typically 5%.

There are some schemes which will match fund the money you raise via crowdfunding and it’s well worth the time to search for match funding. NatWest Bank is a current example of match funding up to £5,000 for women-led businesses or projects that are crowd-funding: https://www.natwestbackherbusiness.co.uk/.

If your business or project benefits the community, or if you’re impacted by coronavirus, then Crowdfunder can direct you to match funding: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds

Crowdfunding makes the administration and publicity much easier than just doing a general call-out for donations. However, your crowdfunding ‘campaign’ will take time to prepare, and requires that you keep publicising your campaign on social media and via targeted emails. You’ll also need to make good on your promise to provide ‘rewards’ to those who opt for one.

Resources: Crowdfunding
There are a lot of resources in the public domain to help you to set-up and promote a crowd-funding campaign which can be easily found with a bit of searching on-line. A good a start as any is Nesta’s Working the Crowd: https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/working_the_crowd.pdf

Each of the crowd-funding platforms have their own guides and videos. See for example, the guides from Crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/guides

Fundraising from Trusts and Foundations
The majority of charitable trusts and foundations have refocused their funding temporarily to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. A small amount of this crisis funding is directed at improving access to local food and supporting small farm businesses. Most of the crisis funding is aimed at supporting the vulnerable and those facing increased demand and challenges as a result of the pandemic. This can include farms facing new challenges and/or supporting their community. For example, the National Lottery Community Fund’s Covid-19 funding program has funding for farms taking action in the community, and the Prince’s Trust Covid-19 funding provides grants for struggling farm businesses run by 18-30 year olds.

There is still funding available unrelated to coronavirus. In recent years there has been a growth in grant support for small-scale and ecological farms, but mainly funders will be looking to support farm businesses and woodlands which either deliver on social objectives and/or that are serving or run by their community. It will be much easier to secure grant funding if you are a charity, community benefit society or community interest company.

There are a number of very good free guides providing an overview to grant fundraising, including an introduction to the vocabulary of grants, see the end of this section.

Searching for Grants
There is a list of grants which may support ecological farms and sustainable woodlands bellow. But this list is not exhaustive, and will change over time; it’s sensible to also do your own search.

A good tool for finding grant-makers is Funding Central, which is free to small organisations and £62 p/a for individuals. You can carry out searches on their database or set up a bespoke search with emails to your inbox, and there’s a good weekly newsletter. It includes corporates and statutory sources of funding as well as trusts. https://www.fundingcentral.org.uk

Directories of trusts are expensive but a cheaper way is to sign up to the mailing list of your local Council for Voluntary Service to get local funding news. Also be sure to phone your county’s Community Foundation. Community Foundations act as clearing houses for lots of funders within a county or geographical area, most counties have them, and their staff are helpful.

Small charitable trusts that give locally are not confined to cities; they’re found all over the country. Sometimes they can be under the radar; the volunteers who run them don’t necessarily boast about their work. So, it’s advised to ask around and find out whether there are any locally-donating trusts in the area surrounding your farm or woodland that might be interested in the work you want funded. Try to have a conversation with a board member to explain what you want to do and judge their interest. You may know someone locally who can introduce you. Alternatively, call. This register lists all charitable trusts and will give you contact details: http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/registerhomepage.aspx. You may then be asked to submit a written proposal. This takes time and effort but is far more likely to succeed than if you had sent the trust a proposal from cold.

Local authorities usually have officers involved in regeneration or economic development whose job it is to keep track of grant funding.

Finally, if you enjoy delving deeper into the details of where grant funds are going and to possibly discover funders, then run searches at 360giving: https://www.threesixtygiving.org/.

Resources: Grant Fundraising
A guide from the National Council of Voluntary Organisations to making an application to a trust or foundation, including a ‘How to Write an Application’ guide https://knowhow.ncvo.org.uk/funding/grants/trusts-and-foundations

Community interest company (CIC) status can be a hindrance to trusts and foundations, though not to the National Lottery Community Fund. Some trusts that do fund CICs are listed at the end of this blog: http://kjholmes.co.uk/blog/charitable-grants-for-cics-and-social-enterprises/

Public Funds
New applications to farm subsidies and woodland grants have largely closed and are unlikely to re-open until at least 2022. New rural structural funding may reopen slightly earlier, with plans to be announced later this year. The closure of public funding applications is a result of our leaving the European Union; Defra and the devolved administrations are in the process of developing their own subsidy and grant schemes. New applications to Country Stewardship schemes can only be submitted up until 31 July 2020 and to the existing woodland schemes until 31 December 2020. Details of the existing woodland schemes are included in the table of potential funds on pages -17.

Resources: Public Funds
There are few guides to public funding, but the Woodland Trust maintains an overview of funding within its webpages including of public funding: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/large-scale-planting/ https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/community-woods/funding/

Loans
Making Local Food Works guide to finance contains a detailed section on loans, including an introduction to the different types of loans available. It can be downloaded for free from Co-ops UK: https://www.uk.coop/resources/simply-finance

There are loans available specifically to support businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, and lenders who are interested in supporting agroecological producers, organic farms, woodlands and community organisations.

The government’s Bounce Back Loans allow businesses affected by Covid-19 to borrow up to 25% of their turnover at no cost in Year 1 and low interest rates thereafter: https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/covid-19/support-checker/schemes/coronavirus-bounce-back-loans/ Cooperative and Community Finance provide loans to social enterprises: https://coopfinance.coop The Ecology Building Society gives mortgages to smallholdings and community groups that support the environment: www.ecology.co.uk Ecosia provides loans to farming projects which “regenerate soil and ecosystems by integrating trees”. Ecosia writes that you can, in effect, suggest your own interest rate: https://www.ecosia-regenerative-agriculture.com/about-2 Fredericks Foundation provides loans to anyone who cannot obtain mainstream finance: https://www.fredericksfoundation.org/ The Fund for Enlightened Agriculture has an emergency loan fund for agroecological producers and community food businesses affected by Covid-19 (must be constituted as a CBS, CIC, CLG, Coop or CIO): http://www.feanetwork.org/our-projects/leap-small-emergency-loan-programme Triodos Bank specialise in providing loans to organic farms: www.triodos.co.uk Loans from the Public Works Loan Board for woodland can be applied for by your parish council: https://www.dmo.gov.uk/responsibilities/local-authority-lending

Resources: Loans
As above, Making Local Food Works produced a comprehensive guide to finance which contains a detailed section on loans. It can be downloaded for free from Co-ops UK: https://www.uk.coop/resources/simply-finance

Loanstock
If your organisation is a community benefit society or co-operative, you are allowed to issue what’s called ‘loanstock’. This is in effect a loan from a supporter. You can agree the rate of interest and repayment schedule with your supporter. You’ll be required to provide them with a loanstock agreement. A model agreement can be found in the Simply Finance guide: https://www.uk.coop/resources/simply-finance

Resources: Loanstock
Community Shares provides the Handbook which includes issuing guidance on issuing loanstock: http://communityshares.org.uk/ and http://communitysharesscotland.org.uk/

Cooperatives UK Simply Finance guide which covers loanstock and provides a model agreement: https://www.uk.coop/resources/simply-finance

Table of Potential Funds for Small-Scale Farms and Woodlands
Name Area of Giving Notes Amounts

Website or contact A-Team Foundation World Funding ‘to transform the food system’, the A-Team Foundation is an important funder to the agroecology sector. Not specified

https://www.ateamfoundation.org/ Esmée Fairbain UK An important funder of systems change in food and farming. Their funding is currently suspended to all but existing recipients due to COVID-19, but watch for the future. Large grants, over £10,000

https://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/ Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust UK The focus of their Sustainable Future programme is on developing and promoting sustainable, low-carbon alternatives to the current consumerist and growth-based paradigm. £4,000 - £300,000

https://www.jrct.org.uk/sustainable-future Lush Cosmetics UK Lush has a strong interest in Permaculture and agroecology and has provided funding to farms in the past. Doesn’t fund individuals but does fund groups. Up to £10,000

https://uk.lush.com/article/charity-pot-funding-guidelines National Lottery Community Fund UK Major funder of the sector, with many different funding programs. They’re currently prioritising funds to address the impact of COVID-19. Their COVID-19 funding program still presents funding opportunities for farms taking action in the community. Varies depending on programme

https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/ Polden Puckham UK This would only suit farming and forestry projects that had a national rather than solely local impact. Polden Puckham support environmental projects including agroecology. £5,000 -£20,000 p/a

https://www.polden-puckham.org.uk/ Postcode Local Trust GB Postcode Local Trust provides project- based funding for not-for-profits under the themes improving biodiversity & green spaces, increasing community access to outdoor space and Combatting climate change & promoting sustainability'. Up to £2,000 unless registered charity and then up to £20,000

www.postcodelocaltrust.org.uk Power to Change England Power to Change has suspended its regular funding but has created a crisis fund for previous grantees and members of Co-operatives UK, Locality and the Plunkett Foundation to cover business losses from April – June 2020. Once funding returns to normal, it’ll be worth revisiting their webpages as in the past they have funded farms, community gardens and nurseries, and orchards. Up to and over £10,000, depending on programme

https://www.powertochange.org.uk/get-support/ Prince’s Trust UK The Prince’s Trust has set up a crisis fund to provide grants to cover losses due to COVID-19 for farm businesses run by 18-30-year olds. Not specified

https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/about-the-trust/coronavirus-response/enterprise-relief-fund The Tudor Trust UK Open to community and voluntary groups, the Tudor Trust are a little unusual in the way they describe what they’re looking to fund: positive organisational characteristics; addressing marginalisation; and making a difference. No max or min

http://tudortrust.org.uk/ Agri-Foods Charities Partnership UK This is not itself a funder, it’s an umbrella body of charitable trusts who are interested in agriculture. Many of its members’ funding seems targeted to mainstream industrialised agriculture, but not all. Some are interested in public education about agriculture, so might like an application for open days or schools visits on your farm. Varies depending on programme/ charity.

https://www.afcp.org.uk/charities Chadacre Agricultural Trust Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire & Essex Grants for agricultural education and training, particularly that links nature conservation & farming. Not specified

http://www.chadacre-trust.org.uk/objectives.html Chalk Cliff Trust East Sussex Focus is improving community life in East Sussex. Up to £5,000

www.chalkclifftrust.org Comic Relief Community Grants England & Wales Grassroots community organisations with income below £250,000 pa and who address as part of their farm or forestry project either mental health, gender equality for women, and/or activities aimed at enriching children’s lives. Up to £4,000

https://www.groundwork.org.uk/national-grants/comic-relief-community-grants/ Community Shares UK Provides grants to help cover the cost of developing a community share offer. Up to £10,000

https://communitysharesbooster.org.uk/stories Coops UK UK Provide funded advice and grants for coops and community groups starting up or expanding, including the Bright Ideas Fund. Up to £15,000

https://www.uk.coop/developing-co-ops/support-and-funding-co-operatives Crowdfunder UK Connects projects and businesses to funders providing match funding. Up to £50,000

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust UK Funds environmental protection and improvement, but carried out by charities only. £500 - £5,000

http://www.doylycartecharitabletrust.org/what-we-fund/ Dulverton Trust UK Charities only, protecting, planting, and sympathetically managing trees and native woodlands. £1,500 - £110,000

https://www.dulverton.org/conservation/ Entrust England Support for landscape scale environmental improvements such as habitat creation and management. However, your site will need to be near to a landfill site. Over £75,000, no upper limit

https://www.entrust.org.uk/landfill-community-fund/finding-funding/funder-search/ Ernest Cook Charitable Trust UK Grants for work based training and environmental education with priorities including farming and food production, social justice, loss of biodiversity, environmental pollution and climate change. However, due to coronavirus, the trust is reviewing its priorities. Unspecified

http://ernestcooktrust.org.uk/grants/ Frank Litchfield Trust Cambridgeshire, Herts, Essex No internet page to review information on this charitable trust, but they have in the past paid for a tractor for a food growing project next to a hospital, and for school visits. Unknown

womack@btinternet.com Gannett Foundation Wales Supports charitable community projects which can include farms and community gardens which provide a benefit to the community. Up to £10,000

https://tinyurl.com/yalcetoz Greggs Foundation UK Their 'local community projects' pot is relevant to farms, for example, they've funded a farm composting project that involved people with learning difficulties. Up to £2,000

https://www.greggsfoundation.org.uk/grants I Dig Trees GB Provides free trees and guards to community groups and volunteers. Free trees

https://www.tcv.org.uk/communities/i-dig-trees Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust Wales Prioritises projects that improve the quality of Wales’ environment, protect and create a vibrant country side and develop and promote sustainable land use. Doesn’t accept applications from individuals. Not specified

https://www.millenniumstadiumtrust.org.uk/regionallocal-grant-guidelines/ Naturesave Trust UK Funding currently suspended due to COVID-19, but worth checking back in with. It usually supports environmental and conservation projects. Unspecified

https://www.naturesave.co.uk/the-naturesave-trust/funding-guidelines NatWest Bank UK Provides a grant to match funds you’ve raised via crowdfunding. For women-led businesses / projects. Up to £5,000

https://www.natwestbackherbusiness.co.uk/ NESTA UK NESTA funds innovation, but their definition of innovation encompasses a wide range of areas. Worth considering if you think your farm or forestry project is trailing something entirely new. All over £10,000

https://www.nesta.org.uk/ Nineveh Trust UK Provides grants to organisations and individuals who provide projects which ‘study or appreciate’ agriculture, silviculture, ecology, land management and conservation of the countryside. Largest grant £80,000 but most under £10,000

https://www.ninevehtrust.org.uk Plunkett Foundation UK Supports rural businesses including woodlands and farms as long as they benefit their local area, are accountable to the community and have a broad community impact. Support includes directing to grants and supporting with grant applications. Up to and over £10,000, depending on programme

https://plunkett.co.uk/how-we-help/ Prince's Countryside Fund UK The Prince’s Countryside Fund is currently undergoing a strategic review but is worth reviewing. Varies with programme

https://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/grant-giving-programme/grant-programme Somerset Community Foundation Somerset Community Foundations are found in many localities. They are single-point clearing houses for numerous funders within a specific geographical area. Up to £10,000

https://tinyurl.com/yc8jtb98 Sussex Community Foundation Sussex Gives to charities and community organisations across Sussex. Wide range of objectives, as long as it benefits the community. £1,000 - £5,000

https://sussexgiving.org.uk/ Sylvia Waddilove Foundation UK Education projects relating to organic farming. Applications from charities, CICs and Registered Societies. Up to £5,000

https://www.pwwsolicitors.co.uk/charity-grants/13-the-sylvia-waddilove-foundation-uk The Coop Membership Fund UK Supports ‘local causes’. Contributed to the Kindling’s Trust insurance costs. Any project that isn’t run for profit can apply. Unspecified

https://www.coop.co.uk/local-causes Tree Council GB Grants for tree-planting. Check July 2020 for 2020/21 planting season Up to £800

https://www.treecouncil.org.uk/grants Trusthouse Charitable Foundation UK Grants programme temporarily suspended but will reopen early autumn 2020. Before COVID-19 the foundation focused on providing grants to small organisations addressing economic deprivation.

http://trusthousecharitablefoundation.org.uk Vegan Organic Network UK The Vegan Organic Network supported individuals to attend Kindling Trust courses and helped with growing at their FarmStart. No information about the grant is on the website so you’ll need to approach them for more information. Unspecified

http://veganorganic.net Whitaker Charitable Trust Nottinghamshire Agricultural and forestry education, or conservation work on a farm or woodlands. Only available to charities though. £1,000 to £2,000

Teresa Skelton 02078022728 Woodland Creation Grant (Rural Payments Agency) England A capital grant for a one-off payment for trees, protection items (e.g., fencing and guards) and support towards infrastructure to help the establishment of new woodland. Unfortunately, the minimum size of new woodland supported by this grant is 3 hectares. Tree species must be predominately native. capped at £6,800 per ha

https://tinyurl.com/rx9qfq7 Woodland Creation Maintenance Grant (RPA) England An annual grant to maintain woodlands established with the support of the Woodland Creation Grant. £200 per ha per year for 10 years

https://tinyurl.com/uqvlq62 Woodland Management Plan Grant (RPA) England For existing woodlands of over 3ha, this is payment to cover the cost of preparing a UK Forestry Standard compliant 10 year management plan. £1,000 flat rate

https://tinyurl.com/yblwcvto Woodland Trust GB Grants for trees, hedges and woodland planning, including grants for agroforestry. Unspecified

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/large-scale-planting/